(Des Moines) Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds says Iowa is not alone in surging COVID-19 cases across the state. Reynolds says increased cases of the virus are showing up across the Midwest and the rest of the country.
In Iowa, over 41,000 new cases were reported in the month of October, raising the state’s positivity rate to 14.3 percent. Patients requiring hospitalization increased from 393 on October 1, to 676 on October 31.
The Governor says since the beginning of the outbreak, the state has tried to balance both life and the livelihoods of Iowa’s. She says the state built a strong testing program with the capacity to test 10,000 Iowans daily. New treatments and therapies are now available that didn’t exist less than one year ago. Reynolds is asking Iowans to take additional precautions as the weather changes and more activities are moved indoors.
Reynolds asks citizens to begin thinking about upcoming holiday gatherings, and develop a plan to celebrate safely, and responsibly.
Governor Reynolds says the past month has taken a toll on healthcare workers. Reynolds approved $25 million in CARES ACT funding to be allocated to hospitals to help with healthcare staffing needs. In addition to that, the Governor announced a media blitz across the state encouraging citizens to help stop the spread of the virus.
